


Thrill of the Chase

by kagewho



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: AU, Aged-Up Character(s), Alcohol, All female gang, Alternate Universe - America, Alternate Universe - Gangsters, Badass Women, Crime, Drugs, Enemies to Lovers, F/F, F/M, Heist, Iwaizumi is HOT, M/M, NSFW, Recreational Drug Use, Slow Burn, Tattoos, They're in a gang, i'm gonna add more tags later, kind of
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-05
Updated: 2021-02-11
Packaged: 2021-03-13 20:41:33
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 13,369
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29034846
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kagewho/pseuds/kagewho
Summary: You are one of the key players in a gang who's sole purpose is to steal back that which rich, arrogant men have stolen from the pockets of deserving people. On one missions, you make the grave mistake of underestimating one of your targets who then seems to surface in every part of your underground life. He embodies everything you hate and you remind him consistently.
Relationships: Akaashi Keiji/Bokuto Koutarou, Iwaizumi Hajime/Reader, Kozume Kenma/Kuroo Tetsurou, other realtionships idk yet
Comments: 1
Kudos: 11





	1. mission possible

**Author's Note:**

> This is heavily inspired by Natalie by Bruno Mars, it's a banger go listen. :)

Coating your lashes with a final swipe of mascara, you pulled back from the mirror slightly so you could get a proper view of what you looked like. You had decided to keep it simple tonight, only wearing a short black velvet dress; it gave the illusion it was little more than a sheet of fabric that had been wrapped around your body. The hem sat just below your mid-thigh, barely concealing the matte, ruby red blade that was always tucked into the leather garter on your leg. Feeling the cool metal against your skin had quickly become a comfort to you, it was often the only constant that remained throughout your many outfits. Your gaze travelled down your reflection to semi-glare at the uncomfortable heels you were forced to wear before travelling back up, inspecting your hairstyle to ensure nothing was out of place. Smoothing down a few flyaways, a familiar voice called your name from across the shitty motel room. 

'Are you ready?' 

You turned away from the mirror, turning the silver ring that encircled your thumb. The ring was shaped like a single arrow, the point and tail meeting so it appeared to be wrapped around your digit. A single 'A' was engraved on the head. The three of you each had one of these rings, it was sort of like an inside joke when you first started working together. You had joked that your little group of then-vigilantes were like a modern robin hood, hence the arrow, and you all thought it was pretty ironic. So, after your first big job, you all went out together and each bought one of these rings engraved with the initial of your codename. Yours was Artemis, after the Greek goddess of the hunt. Kiyoko's 'A' signified Aphrodite since she was just as beautiful and twice as deadly. Yachi's 'A' represented Athena, the Goddess of battle strategy as she was the one you relied on to formulate any plans for the jobs you had to go on. Your attention turned to the mastermind now and Yachi furrowed her eyebrows at you as you faced her, her usual look of concern contorting her expression. 

'Always,' You replied, the right corner of your mouth pulling up in a cocky smirk. 

You predicted that your confidence would reassure her but she shook her head at you, her eyebrows would have scrunched up more if it were possible. 

'You need to be careful,' She warned, her voice coloured with worry as she said your name, 'Just because you do it a lot doesn't mean it's not still dangerous.'

The smirk slipped off of your face; you moved towards her, crossing the small, dingy room in only a few steps. She was fiddling nervously with her fingers as she often did; you cupped both of your hands around both of hers to stop her obsessive fidgeting. Peering up at you, her large, brown eyes -filled with uneasiness- locked with yours. You pitied her, especially when she got like this, which was very often. She was not designed for this type of life; you promised her frequently that you would rid of her ties to this world so she could go on and pursue whatever mundane and happy future suited her, but it would take a while longer before you could rescue her. You always kept your promises though, even if it meant doing unforgiveable things, after all, what were a few more sins when added to your ever-growing lit if it meant she could choose never to break a rule again? You would do your best to give her that choice. You stared down at the floor for a moment, pushing those thoughts out of your mind before speaking in a quieter tone than before.

'I'll be fine! Besides,' You offered her a genuine smile, gesturing to the open laptop on the wobbly, rotting desk that displayed a screen that was divided into nine individuals videos. A live feed of surveillance cameras. 'You can keep an eye on me from there. I'll make sure to do the signal if I get into trouble.'

Her expression softened minutely as she stared down at your hands around hers but you could easily tell she was still fretting over your safety, she was like an open book. You released her hands, moving yours up and placing one on each side of her face, squishing her cheeks and angling her face upwards so she had no choice but to keep her gaze on you as you spoke.

'I will be careful, I swear,' You stated, your voice level and serious. At your promise, most of the worry evaporated from her face and she smiled toothily.

'Kiyoko will be here soon. If you need back up, she'll come in,' You nodded at her, releasing her face. Deciding not to argue or warn her not to jump the gun and send Kiyoko in unnecessarily, Kiyoko could keep a cool head well enough to counteract Yachi's fits of overreactions.

You turned away from her, grabbing your jacket and phone from where they were strewn across the double bed. The stained covers were messily scrunched into a pile and you shuddered at the thought of what bacteria lurked in there, glad the bathroom wasn't so disgusting that you weren't able to have a shower before you got ready. Hooking your jacket over your arm, clicking on your phone to check the time. The screen displayed the numbers 20:43 and you nodded silently to yourself before donning you jacket and placing a hand on the handle of your room door. You swung it open, the crisp night air biting at the exposed skin of your legs, as you shouted a goodbye to your partner over your shoulder.

You stalked down the concrete walk way, your heels clicking dully on the ground beneath you, until you reached the rusted metal stair case that sat just beyond the last room. You hurried down it, not daring to touch the flaking banister lest it give you some sort of disease. Your footsteps on the metal rang hollow throughout the mostly empty parking lot of the motel. 

As soon as your foot connected with the loose, uneven gravel of the car park, you cursed under your breath. You had to slowly down your hurried steps dramatically to ensure you didn’t roll an ankle or something. Despite being well accustomed to walking or even running in heels by now, the unpredictable shifting of the tiny, devilish rocks that made up gravel never failed to almost send you flying.

Carefully, you made your way over to your car, an all white Audi A8. Well, not your car; it was the car you’d been made to use for your job tonight. If it were up to you, you would never choose something so gaudy or ostentatious but it wouldn’t be smart to pull up to a job with your own car and license plates. And it was objectively a nice car, so you couldn’t complain. 

You reached into your jacket pocket, pulling out the keys and unlocking the car. With a light tug, the door opened soundlessly and you slipped inside, shutting it with a louder than necessary slam. The leather was cool against the skin of your thighs but not unpleasant. Your hands slipped onto the steering wheel after you started the car, it purred to life under you and you took no timing waiting before swiftly reversing and smoothly pulling out of the parking lot and onto the road. 

***

The roads were busy, it was nine pm on a Saturday in Las Vegas after all. The cars in front of you were moving but no faster than a snail, you drummed your fingers impatiently on the steering wheel. It would’ve been faster if you had just walked, you thought, exasperated. 

Traffic trudged along slowly, dragging time behind it at an even slower pace. Eventually, though, you rounded the corner you had been waiting for and pulled into the right, slowing down as you reached the queue for the chauffeurs. Great, even more waiting. Picking your phone up of the passenger seat, you fired off a short but sweet text to Yachi before checking a few things and dropping it into the right hand pocket of your jacket. 

It didn’t take much time for the line to move along. You slid out of your car, passing your keys and a way too generous tip over to the chauffeur as you went. 'Pull it 'round at seven am sharp, will you, sweetheart?' You offered him a sly smile as you passed him, stepping onto the polished concrete of the casino’s entrance. The smile he returned displayed his obvious nervousness as he ran a hand through his long brown hair before practically tripping over himself to hunch over and squeeze himself into your car. You giggled a little at his clumsiness before turning away from him to face the casino you were about to enter.

Your neck craned backwards as you took in the whole building. It would've been almost ominous if not for the loud music pouring out the door and the embarrassingly tacky lights that illuminated the entrance. For a moment, you observed. Observed people flooding in and out of the doors; observed their mostly slurred speech as they stumbled over their own feet. Observed the security guards by the entrance and how every so often they would lean into their walkie talkies and listen intently only to remain at their station. Observed the height of the building, trying to remember the number of rooms that Yachi had told you that there was. You recalled that she told you about the differently levels, the highest being titled ultra platinum. You thought the name was uppity and pretentious but it didn't surprise you. You had to mentally prepared yourself to hear your target brag using that title for the next few hours, at that thought you sighed, it was going to be a long night. Thinking of your target prompted you to cycle through your mental checklist all about him: you were a professional after all. You began walking forward as you considered your list, not wanting to draw too much attention to yourself yet. 

Yachi's voice echoed in your head, 'His name is Iwaizumi Hajime. He's a business mogul, absolute trust fund baby and an only child to boot. He invests mainly in tech companies but has a penchant for getting too wrapped up in gambling, especially on sports but he can be found in a regular old casino when the mood takes him. There is shockingly little personal information on him. He rarely does interviews and when he does he keeps it strictly to work talk, he's even walked out of interviews that have attempted to pry too much into his personal life. The most personal information about him that was publicly available was that both of his parents had died, supposedly in a boating accident, thought there has been plenty of speculation around that claim alone.' 

It was unusual that the men you went after were so reserved. Typically, they were cocky and flaunted their wealth, lavishing in the opportunity to tell a pretty girl all about how much their solid gold, diamond encrusted Rolex cost. They were so stupid and annoying, for lack of more fitting words, but you preferred them that way. They practically rolled out the red carpet and followed it up with an all expenses paid tour of what would be best to steal. It made it so much easier for you. You fretted slightly that Iwaizumi would be a harder nut to crack; this could obviously cause you a lot of issues but you were nothing if not up for a challenge. Even the thought of having to work a little harder set your blood rushing in your veins, this one would be a sweet victory indeed. 

'Don't disappoint me, Hajime,' You mumbled under your breath, a devilish smirk slithering onto your face. 

As you entered the spinning doors of the casino, the stench of alcohol and a cacophony of overbearing perfumes and colognes assaulted your nose. At least it didn't smell as bad as that motel. The floor was carpeted in a design that looked like it was pulled straight from the sixties and every piece of hardware: the banister, any door handles and even the feet and trim of the games tables were gilded in a horrible, fake, pale yellow gold colour. You shivered internally, it was an interior designers worst nightmare but it was exactly what you had expected. 

The lobby you were stood in wasn't very large considering the size of the building. To your left, there were two elevators decorated in a art-deco twenties style, the gold matched the fixtures but the era of design matched nothing else, beside it was a wide staircase that was covered in the same ugly carpet as the rest of the downstairs. In front of you, directly opposite the entrance, was the front desk. There were long lines stretching out from each till and you said a silent prayer for all of the workers; hoping their night wasn't too terrible but you knew dealing with drunk people who had lost a lot of money could never be a treat. To your right, was the entrance to the actual floor of the casino. Tables for poker and blackjack stretched for a long while, each of them surrounded by people screaming in joy or shouting in anger. Along the back wall, you could just barely make it out, was the familiar wall of alcohol that accompanied a bar. That would be your first stop. With a deep, calming breath, you stepped out of the lobby and began to make your way through the sea of people. 

With practically every step, you had to dodge a new person that was high on either drugs or luck, it was unfathomably irritating. But you weaved a quick path through them nonetheless, making sure to keep somewhat undetected, the last thing you needed right now was to cause a scene. You furrowed your eyebrows as you gradually noticed some more sketchy figures amidst those that were just here to enjoy some time away from their menial nine to fives. When you first entered, you had clocked a couple of them but it was not unusual for certain dodgy dealing to take place in casinos so you weren't unnerved by their presence. However, as you made your way through the crowd, a lot more of them were surfacing on the edge of your peripheral, arms folded and quiet, not distinct or eye-catching enough for anyone to notice if they weren't paying attention. You did your best to shoot inconspicuous glances at them; it was hard to get a proper gauge on who they were and if they were all together without making yourself obvious. You shook your head lightly, they were not your concern tonight but now that you were aware of them they wouldn't be left out of your considerations for the rest of the time you were in that casino. 

Finally, you sat down at the bar, gliding onto one of the few empty stools that surrounded it and pulling off your jacket. The edge of the bar-top was coated in the same cheap, tinny gold that adorned the rest of the fixtures and the dark mahogany that it bordered was suspiciously sticky, though you hoped it was only from the pints of alcohol that had surely been spilled all over the wood. Behind the bar, there were only two bartenders at work, both wearing the stereotypical long white sleeved shirt accompanied by a shiny black waistcoat. The bartender that was furthest from stood at least six foot, towering over most the patrons, with short blonde hair and a pair of thin, rectangular glasses that were perched on his nose bridges. You could see through his glasses that his golden eyes rolled continuously at the drunkards attempting to drag him into endless and pointless conversations about their escapades. 

He mixed the drinks quietly, maintaining as little small talk as necessary, with a look on his face that told you he would rather be anywhere else in the world right now. You smiled towards him with pit in your expression, though his attention never left the drinks he was pouring, and you honestly couldn't blame him for his disinterested expression. You liked people and socialising, in fact you were good at it, you had to be. But when people got drunk and unmanageable, you often clocked out, only drawing into a conversation with them if they seemed like they were a danger to others or themselves.

You pulled your gaze away from the tall bartender to the one that was only a few meters away from you. If there was anyone that exuded the antithesis of the energy of the stoic blonde down the bar, it was the guy in front of you. He spoke animatedly with the customers around him, a smile on his face as he rocked his shaker back and forth. Everyone he served had a full blown conversation with him, whether they were completely out of it or entirely sober. You watched intently when he moved to converse with a group of middle aged women, a seductive tone slipping into his voice as he leant over the bar towards them, running his tongue over his lips so his piercing shone under the lights of the casino. It was smart of him to do so, an attractive guy like him could easily get plenty of tips that way. Your eyes remained trained on him as he pulled back from the group of older ladies, running a hand through his caramel coloured hair, not caring that a couple strands fell straight back over his face. He scanned the bar for his next prey and his large brown eyes found you. He headed over immediately, crossing the space between you in a few strides.

'Hiya, sweetheart,' He smirked and you did your best to contain your laughter, trying to decide if you would entertain yourself for the time being by playing along with his charade, 'What can I get for ya?'

'Hmm,' You pretended to scan the tower of alcohols along the back wall, tapping a finger on your chin as though deep in thought but you already knew what you were going to say to him, 'What would you recommend?'

'Well, for a pretty flower like you,' He leaned forward, placing his elbows on the bar; making you cringe internally, that could not be sanitary, 'How about the 'Pink Lotus'?'

You played along, laughing nervously and leaning towards him, placing a hand on your chin as you reluctantly leaned your elbow on the gross wood.

'That sounds nice,' You commented with a sheepish smile.

'Coming right up,' He affirmed with a quick wink before he turned away from you and moved a bit down the bar, starting on your drink while chatting to some other patrons.

You pulled your elbow of the table with a grimace, snatching up a napkins to wipe at it but it didn't make you feel any better. Honestly, you weren't one for fruity little cocktails but you were more than notorious for being unable to hold your liquor so it was for the best that your drink probably wouldn't even be able to make a toddler stumble. It was imperative that you kept your wits about you and that would be impossible if you downed all the shots you wanted. Plus, it would give Yachi some peace of mind to see that you were being responsible even though she was probably cursing you through the screen from the very moment you sat down at the bar. If you didn't know her better, you'd think she had no faith in you with the way she lecture you after each job. Telling you that you should drink so much or talk to so many people or spend so much time doing something other than the task at hand. You know it was mainly because she worried about you but every so often, Kiyoko would chime in and agree with her scolding which meant you had actually gone too far that time. But you couldn't help it, all work and no play was a boring life to live, especially when all the exciting stuff was going down right beside you.

The bartender made his way back over to you, a smile on his face and a near-fluorescent pink drink in his hand. He set it down in front of you and threw you another wink. 

'Here you go, sweetheart,' He glanced around the rest of the bar for moment, 'I would love to stay but I've got customers to get to.'

'Go right ahead,' You reassured him, gesturing your hand around the bar with a flourish of your hand.

You looked down at the drink, it was garnished with a cherry, a pastel pink umbrella and a bright red bendy straw. Raising the glass off the counter, you caught the straw in your mouth and took a long pull. The cocktail was extremely sweet, almost sickeningly so, it tasted like pure sugar but you guessed it was intended to be bubble-gum or strawberry flavoured. You would've guessed there was absolutely no alcohol in it which was a dangerous game, you had to make sure you didn't have anymore because you'd be drunk before you even noticed you were. 

Before taking another sip, you scanned the area, craning your neck around slightly to get a good look. It had been long enough now, that he should be here somewhere, Mr Hajime was late. But you had yet to even catch a glimpse at him. You sighed, pulling your glass up to your face once more, taking another absent-minded swallow of your cocktail. Deciding to check the time, you pulled your phone out of your jacket that was laid over your lap, you half wondered if there was a place where you could check your coat in so you didn't have to carry it around all night. It was only nine thirty. You decided you would give it until ten before you gave up and left, you weren't going to waste that much time on such a risky endeavour.

You were nearing the end of your drink when the smiley bartender wandered back over to you.

'You enjoying that, babe?' You didn't appreciate that; on any other day you would've reprimanded it, especially since he said it with such a condescending tone but you had already to play along tonight so you let it slide.

'Yeah, it's delicious,' You smiled at him, leaning forwards onto the bar so you were closer to him and a smirk pulled up the right side of his mouth as he tried to keep his cool but you could easily the blush rising on his cheeks, 'And does this place have somewhere I can put my coat? I couldn't find the cloakroom when I came in.'

You widened your eyes and looked up at him through your lashes.

'I can hold onto it,' he offered, his smile becoming more sheepish as he continued, 'I'll pop it right here.'

He patted an empty space underneath the bar.

'It'll give you a reason to come back and visit me,' He'd stopped punctuating his sentences with pet names since his face had reddened.

'Awww,' You kept hold of your phone and the cash in the back of the phone case, not caring to take your keys out of the pocket, 'You're too sweet.'

You handed him your jacket with a wide, appreciative smile on your face and watched as he tucked it under the bar safely before standing up from your stool and slipping a few bills out of your phone case and handing them over to him. He smiled again sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck with his hand as he watched you turn before walking away, quickly melting into the crowd until he couldn't see you anymore. Nonetheless, he stared after you for a while longer until someone shouting at him for a drink pulled his attention back to his job.

You wandered around slowly, you were inclined to do a bit of gambling. It wasn't really your thing though, it involved a lot of math to be any good at it and that had never been your strong suit although you were sure that your luck could take you some of the way there and you weren't even using your own money so, no harm no foul right? You shrugged to yourself and headed back to the entrance of the room remembering that you'd have to exchange your cash for some chips before you could play.

You were wrong, it was not harm but a lot of foul. You did not win one game. Not a single one. You started on Blackjack, it was the simplest game you could find but you consistently put too much faith in your ability to pull an ace simply by willing it to be the next card that was pulled out. It was almost embarrassing how bad you were. You quickly moved from the Blackjack table, praising whatever god there was that you hadn't brought your own money because you would be feeling the hit of losing a lot harder right now if you had. You made the mistake of moving over to poker. Your poker face was amazing, from years of run-ins with people you were forced to lie to. If only you had known what a single one of your hands meant. The phrases flush and full house and three of a kind passed around the table and you furrowed your eyebrows at the cards in your hands, you had no idea what was going on. You gave up on that quickly, folding and leaving before the game finished. 

In retrospect, it was a bad idea to play in a casino -who's sole job it was to swindle people out of money- when you had no idea how to play any of the games. You exhaled heavily as you stood up from the table, you didn't even have a clue what game you were playing but you were pretty certain it had ended. So you clicked your phone on again, the display on the screen told you it was ten past ten. You had already been here longer than you needed to, Yachi would probably be getting nervous seeing that you hadn't even encountered your target so you were putting yourself at further risk by being there for no reason. Tapping your phone back off, you meandered back over the to the bar with the intention of grabbing your jacket from the cute bartender. 

You made it to the bar but you couldn't see him when you first arrived over there, despite it being a lot less crowded than before, the only person behind the bar was the tall, blonde guy who still had a face on him like he hated everyone around him. Yet again, you hoped up onto a bar stool again, waving a little in an attempt to get the bartender's attention. He saw your gesture and you knew he wanted to roll his eyes at you but refrained since you would've easily noticed. When he got close enough, you began to speak.

'Where's your little bartender friend?' You asked him, not bothering to keep up the act that you had maintained with the shorter of the pair.

'My co-worker is on his break,' He answered curtly, not waiting for you to reply before walking away to tend to someone else at another section of the bar. 

Your attention followed him as he headed over to serve someone, your focus shifted from the bartender to the customer that was now speaking to him as your head dropped into your hands again as you prepared to sit and wait for the other guy to return from his break. But your eyes lit up as you watched him talk, ordering a scotch on the rocks with a deep, low voice that you could barely hear. You lifted your head from your hand and sat up straight in your chair as you felt your heart start beating faster in your chest, adrenaline seeping into the blood rushing through your veins. Iwaizumi Hajime. In the flesh.

He was dressed in a long sleeved white shirt, the top few buttons of which were undone which allowed you to see the top of his toned chest. A thick, Cuban link gold chain circled the base of his throat, complimenting his tanned sin beautifully. There was a surprisingly large diamond earring in his right ear but you couldn't see if there was a matching one in his left since he was still facing the lanky bartender so only half of his face was towards you. And that half was beautiful. A halo of spikey black hair around his head and his face was angular and structured perfectly. No matter how much you might despise him, you couldn't help but think he looked like some sort of angry Greek God with his dark eyebrows furrowed over his eyes.

You shifted your focus, trying your best not to make it obvious that you were staring at him but still shooting him glances; doing your best to gauge his mood and personality before approaching him. You would likely only have one shot at this, and it had to go right for this to work. Usually, you would just act all airy and stupid. The rich assholes you dealt with had a serious Madonna-Whore complex so you couldn't show them more than one facet of your personality lest they see you anything other than a purely sexual being.

He seemed as reserved as he came across through interviews; he seemed annoyed when you looked over at him but not angry. You took a deep breath, deciding the best course of action would probably be to act as close to yourself as possible, you doubted that any of that other stuff was going to work in your favour with him. The seats on either side of him were empty. Perfect.

You slipped off of your chair, moving around the bar to where your target was sat and slipping onto the stool to the left hand side of him. He glanced at you for a moment, seeing you move into his peripheral vision, but he quickly averted his eyes back to the drink in front of him, tapping his fingers on the glass of strongly smelling alcohol. You passed your gaze up and down him, he actually did have both his ears pierced and his white dress shirt was tucked into a pair of plain black slacks, the gold buckle of his belt clear as day resting over his crotch. He didn't say anything, not having noticed that you were checking him out. So you decided to take the lead, but try to keep it simple so you could figure out how to approach this.

'Hey, you're back!' A voice interrupted before you could speak. Both you and Iwaizumi snapped your heads in the direction the words came from simultaneously. 

'Oh hey!' You chirped at him with a sweet smile, looking down at his hands holding an empty, black, circular drinks tray tucked against his body. 'Could you do me a favour and grab me my coat, please?'

'Umm.. Yeah, sure,' He stumbled over his words slightly, coughing to clear his throat, 'You leaving already?'

'Haha, probably,' You admitted, 'I suck at gambling.'

You tried to keep your answers as neutral as possible, very aware of Iwaizumi's gaze flitting between the pair of you. It rested on you for a moment longer when the bartender moved away from you, presumably to go an fetch the jacket from wherever he'd stashed it earlier. Iwaizumi's gaze returned to his glass; you were about to open your mouth to speak but he beat your to it. 

'Why are you in a casino if you don't know how to gamble?' His voice rumbled deeply, like the purr of an expensive car engine. His words seemed condescending but his tone seemed friendly enough. 

'Hahaha,' You giggled, stalling for time a little, flicking through excuses in your mind. You could hardly tell him you were waiting for him to show up. 'I guess I thought lady luck would be by my side.'

He shot you a sideways glance, his forearms pressed firmly to the wood of the bar and he was still leaning forward slightly. Despite yourself, you could feel your breath hitch lightly in your throat. Curse him for being attractive. You offered him a small smile nevertheless, doing your best to make it appear genuine.

'That's pretty stupid,' He commented with a scoff, averting his eyes from you once again.

You raised an eyebrow, curling up the right side of your top lip. It was hard to tell if he was trying to playfully joke with you or if he was actually an asshole, you guessed the latter considering the attitude of guys you had met previously in his position but you resolved to treat him like it was the former. After all, you still needed him to like you.

'I'm not stupid. Just optimistic,' You retorted with a smile, you would've offered him a playful wink had he been looking your way.

'Delusional more like,' He chuckled this time, it was a low and warm. It didn't last long enough.

'Hey!' You pretended to be offended, raising your voice a little, 'You probably know how to play and still would've still done shitter than I did.'

He finally turned his head towards you, a smirk gracing his lips as he raised an eyebrow at you. You noticed it had single slit in it where you could see the skin that was stretched over his brow bone but you couldn't tell if it was intentional or the aftermath of a scar.

'You think? How many did you win?'

You chuckled nervously. He didn't seem to have taken any offense to what you said- which was a good sign- but you had just expected him to cockily brag about how much money he had won, not actually inquire about how well you had done. The type of rich men you pursued were often more concerned with showing off, paying very little attention to what you had to say unless you were complimenting them. Iwaizumi was an anomaly, however you had only just met him, he had plenty of time to show his true colours.

'Erm,' You hesitated, tempted to lie a little so it wasn't completely embarrassing but you decided against it. You made a circle with your thumb and forefinger, your silver ring glistened in the lights of the bar, 'Big fat zero.'

Iwaizumi responded to your complete incompetence with a laugh, this one was louder than before and it lasted longer. You were glad he was easing up so quickly, the job was going to be a lot simpler than you anticipated.

'You suck,' He commented when he eventually stopped laughing, grabbing his drink from the bar and taking a long sip.

You watched his large Adam's apple bob up and down as he swallowed; pulling your gaze away from it hurriedly when the clink of him setting the glass down dragged you out of your fixation on his throat. Quickly, you opened your mouth to respond to him, hoping he hadn't notice your trance-like stare. But you were interrupted again.

'Hey!' You looked up to see the bartender with the undercut making his way towards you, your jacket in one hand and a tray filled with all manner of colourful drinks balanced precariously on the other, 'I have your coat.'

'Oh, thank you,' You replied as he got closer.

You watched as the liquid in the glasses rocked back and forth, raising a worried eyebrow. He stopped momentarily, little over a meter away from you, steadied his arm and offered you a cocky smile before starting up again, extended out the hand that was gripping your jacket. Returning his smile, you lifted your hand from where it sat on the bar to meet him half way but the jacket didn't meet your hand. Instead, you watched as the bartender stumbled forwards a bit, looking down at his feet as he did so, losing any awareness of how level the drinks tray he had in his hand was. The whole tray pitched to a forty-five degree angle in your direction, of course. You stiffened as the gush of alcohol hit you, the sound of glass clattering onto the bar and the floor followed as you felt a shard or two of glass connect with your skin as the broken pieces ricocheted off of the wood in front of you.

The bartender's eyes slowly looked up from the floor, his shoulder visible tensed, with an apology already in his eyes. You saw Iwaizumi expression morph from one of indifference to shock. You relaxed your muscles, you weren't severely hurt. Though you did have half a mind to shout at the stupid bartender purely for the fact that your job was now ruined; as diligent as you were (which actually wasn't very), you weren't about to sit in a soaking wet dress for the sake of completing your task.

'I'm so sorry. Oh my god,' His face ignited red as he apologised to you profusely, not even beginning to clean up the mess as he offered you a small dish towel, 'Are you okay?'

'I'm fine, I'm fine,' You faked a warm smile; it didn't reach your eyes but you doubted that he'd notice in the frazzled state he was in. You took the towel and began to dab at your dress but it was soaked through almost immediately, 'You don't have to apologise.'

From your right hand side, you heard a low chuckle that was quickly becoming familiar to you. You turned your head to see the Iwaizumi had begun laughing as soon as he realised you were fine, you scowled deeply at him but he continued to laugh as the bartender spoke again, drawing your attention back to him.

'I'm really sorry. I can see if we have any spare clothes or I can-' He was begin to ramble but Iwaizumi cut him off before he could continue.

'You just stay here and clean all this up,' His voice was authoritative when speaking to the flustered bartender, he turned to you, his tone become considerably more uncertain 'You can come up to my room for a change of clothes and a shower.'

'If you want.' He added, his words came out more rushed than he intended.

Perfect. Internally, you thanked the bartender for being so stupid, a small smile slipping across your face. 

'Are you sure?' Say yes, you thought at him, 'I don't want to impose.'

'I wouldn't have offered if I wasn't sure,' He responded curtly, you furrowed your eyebrows at his switch in temperament but said nothing. Nevertheless, his voice soften as he continued, 'You're not imposing, I have nothing better to do.'

'Charming,' You scoffed but kept your tone light.

He pushed his stool back and stood up, leaving a few bills on the top of the bar. You took this as your cue to stand, hopping off your stool and politely tucking it back underneath the lip of the wood. The bartender stuttered out another apology to you, asking yet again if you were sure he couldn't help you in anyway. You declined his offer but thanked him again with a warm smile as Iwaizumi began making his way across the casino. Hastily, you swivelled on your heel and headed after him, your phone clutched in your hand but your jacket forgotten where it had fallen onto the floor behind the bar, your car keys along with it. 

It took you a few seconds to catch up with Iwaizumi; he was already almost half way across the room by the time you did, hurrying after him since it took several of your steps to match his especially since you were in heels. As you slowed your pace to fall into step beside him, weaving in-between the games tables and the crowd of people surrounding them, he pulled his phone out of where it was stuffed into his front trouser pocket. You did your best to peer over at the display but all you could decipher was a default iPhone lock screen followed by what you could only assume was an email or message of some kind since the text was much too small for you to read from any sort of distance. He furrowed his eyebrows at the screen as he walked, keeping his focus on the long text even as you neared the exit of the room, not saying a word to you as you went. 

As you stepped out into the lobby, Iwaizumi lowered his phone, shoving it back into his pocket before finally throwing a look in your direction. You weren't particularly paying him much mind by now, annoyed that you weren't able to see even the littlest detail of what was on his phone; you had let your mind wander slightly as you waited for him to speak. Not wanting to seem too eager before you made it to your room. Still though, you saw his gaze flit from your face to your arm and then back up to your face, his expression now a scowl.

'You're bleeding,' His tone was mostly concerned but he seemed to be somewhat surprised.

You glanced down at your left arm. Sure enough, there was a cut on your forearm. It was particularly long nor was it deep but blood was trickling out of it pretty steadily. Now that your attention had been drawn to it you realised it had begun to sting but it wasn't unbearable pain and it definitely wouldn't need stitches or anything. You looked back up at Iwaizumi; considering for a moment if you should play it theatrical and swoon so he could play the prince and save the damsel in distress, catering to her wound. You couldn't help but feel that would be entirely lost on him so you just reacted how you normally would and offered him a shrug.

'You reckon the front desk has a first aid kit?' You wondered aloud, turning to the direction of the receptionist.

Taking the first step in that direction, you felt a large hand grab your arm. You winced at the pain that shot through the cut and whirled on Iwaizumi with raised eyebrows. His arm recoiled immediately, his expression becoming apologetic for the first time that night.

'Sorry.' He muttered before clearing his throat and continuing, 'Don't you think you should go to the hospital?'

'Nah,' You responded, shaking your head at him, 'Nothing some rubbing alcohol and a bandage won't fix.'

He squinted his eyes at you, trying to determine if pushing you any further would cause you to agree to see a medical professional. He seemed to decide it wouldn't as he nodded at you, pulling his phone out of his pocket once again, walking towards the elevator at the other end of the lobby.

'I'll get a first aid kit brought to my room,' He explained as he tapped away on his phone screen, 'God knows where any of the ones in this hotel have been.'

You hummed in agreement but said nothing as you both stepped into the elevator, your right hand pressing down over the cut on your arm. He turned to face the keypad, keeping as far away from you as possible in the tiny elevator, selecting the button at the very top with the number 65 embossed onto it in a dull white glow. You raised an eyebrow. He had to be a different level of rich than your usual targets. A room all the way on the top floor was bound to be ridiculously expensive. From the way he spoke about having a first aid kit delivered, it seemed like he had a personal butler or assistant of some sort at his constant beck and call. Not to mention the solid gold Cuban link chain would've easily set him back a few hundred. 

There was no way he made this much money from just his investments, you saw what that portfolio looked like and -while it wasn't terrible- it wasn't much better than all of the other Wall Street idiots you had scammed. Where was all this money coming from? Maybe his parents left a big inheritance, but he didn't seem the type to squander it without a back up. But what did you know, he was quite the enigma so perhaps he was just like all the other arrogant and impulsive rich kids.

The silence between the pair of you was growing longer and you weren't particularly enjoying it, itching to know more about him.

'Sooo,' You started, 'What's your name?'

'You don't know who I am?' So you were right, another arrogant, rich prick.

'Shockingly,' You couldn't help yourself, your voice dripped with sarcasm, 'I don't.'

'It's Iwaizumi,' He informed you, though of course you knew already. It was just safer to pretend like you didn't so he didn't mistake you for some crazy fan girl. 'What's yours?'

You told him your name and immediately cursed yourself to hell and back. Why on Earth had you told him your real name? It was unlike you to do anything so stupid. A single slip up like that could jeopardise everything and you rarely made such a mistake. You reminded yourself to keep it together. You had probably just messed up because you weren't putting as much of an act on as usual. He would never be able to track you down with that name, no way did he know the right people in his sheltered little life. You had to relax before you made yourself look suspicious.

The rest of the short ride was filled with silence, as was the long walk down the corridor towards the door of his room. You stood to the side as the man pulled a key card out of his pocket and swiped it on the handle of the door. The sound of a muffled click came from the door and Iwaizumi swung it open, holding it wide and gesturing for you to head inside before him. You nodded slightly as a thank you as you walked past him into his room, he was possibly the most chivalrous asshole you had ever met. 

Surveying the large room, your suspicions were confirmed. This guy was filthy rich. Your eyes scanned around. A large four poster bed was pressed up to one wall, ladened with plush, untouched pillows and duvets. Large, floor-to-ceiling doors stood opposite you, each of them covered in windows, allowing you to see out onto the balcony and further into the bright lights of the rest of Las Vegas. Underfoot, the cream carpet was soft and lush. Over in the far corner of the room was a towering mahogany closet with golden accents, only these didn't look as fake as the ones that cheapened the rest of the hotel. To your right was another door, presumably that lead to the ensuite. Your admiration of the room was interrupted.

'How are you feeling?' Iwaizumi's voice came from behind you, he was stood at an awkward distance. He hadn't come within a meter of you since he'd grabbed your arm.


	2. 2. mission possible but a lot harder than originally thought

'I don't bite you know?' You smirked at the man who was still hovering some ways away from you. 

He raised an eyebrow at you, which you expected. You had little choice but to be assertive, not that you were opposed to it. He was obviously less inclined to be open with you but you needed him to trust you more for your plan to work. On a usual job, you would've told the bartender to supply you with the alcohol free version of whatever drink you ordered while chatting up your target of the night, stroking his arm and his ego simultaneously. Pretending to get drunker and drunker as the night went on. Inevitably, these predators would invite you up to their room with the promise of more alcohol or drugs and the heavy implication that they wanted to fuck you. Sometimes, depending on your mood and their behaviour, you would take them up on their offers and have a drink or smoke; though it was rare that you allowed them to have sex with you, they were far from deserving. Each time, after gracing them with your company for a couple more hours you would pretend to fall asleep or pass out on their king-sized beds. Eventually, they would either leave the room in pursuit of another innocent victim or they would fall asleep beside you and only then would you begin stealthily scoping the room. You stole anything of value, doing your best to keep to the smaller stuff: watches, jewellery, cash and cards. Sometimes you couldn't resist a pretty handbag or expensive coat, though.

'Just go for a shower, idiot ' He retorted, eyebrow still raise as he motioned to the bathroom door with his head.

'I'm not an idiot, you don't even know me,' You spat somewhat defensively.

'I know you came to a casino when you know nothing about gambling, so it's fair to call you an idiot,' Iwaizumi responded, unaffected by your attitude as he dropped down to sit on the edge of his bed, putting his hands behind him on the covers so he could lean backwards onto them.

You scowled at him but it was a fair observation.

'And a suppose you're a master gambler?' You enquired.

'I get by,' He shrugged slightly with a smile and you cursed your heart as it faltered in your chest.

'Maybe you can teach me when I'm all cleaned up,' You suggested, immediately seeing an opportunity to get closer to him.

'Maybe,' The way the smile remained on his face told you that mostly likely was a yes. 

You returned a smile of your own before turning on your heel and entering the bathroom. The door closed quietly behind you and you locked it with an almost inaudible 'click' before turning around and heading further into the bathroom. Surprisingly, there was already a full first aid kit perched beside the sink on the counter. As you pulled the zipper of the red bag, you wondered how it had gotten here so quickly. There was no one in here when you entered the room and he had presumably only requested it just before the pair of you had gotten on the elevator. So whoever had brought it either had the fear of God put into them when they had been slow before or were being compensated handsomely for such ridiculous requests, or perhaps it was a combination of the two. You shrugged to yourself, either way it didn't really matter to you. As long as your cut didn't get infected it made very little difference how this first aid kit had got here. You pulled out a medium sized bottle wrapped with a label that read: rubbing alcohol, intended for medical use only. Unscrewing the cap, you wondered who had ever been desperate enough to drink that they had downed rubbing alcohol, it can't have tasted nice. 

You stuck your arm over the sink, pouring some of the rubbing alcohol over it and gritting your teeth to stop from wincing at the stinging sensation it caused. The cut wasn't deep at all. Nonetheless, you inspected it for any remaining glass or worrying redness. When you found nothing, you turned to the shower. The bathroom was a lot more modern than the rest of the hotel, like it had been remodelled far more recently. The shower was just a regular one, rectangular; pressed into the corner of the room with glass on the two exposed sides. You pulled the glass door open, leaning into the shower in an attempt to read the silver knobs and decipher how you could turn it on. They were very little help so you straightened up again rather than randomly turn the knob while in the way of the water stream while still fully clothed. You had been burned many a time. 

After slipping out of your shoes and peeling your dress off, you grab one of the complimentary shower caps and shove all of your hair into it before stepping into the shower, you honestly can't be bothered to wash your hair and form past experience the shitty, hotel-provided conditioner will just sap all the moisture from it anyway. It takes a few tries of blasting yourself with freezing cold and scolding hot water before you get the temperature and pressure of the water stream right and actually start your shower, trying to ignore the dull throbbing of your laceration as it gets pelted with water. 

You spend as little time as possible in the shower, stepping out as soon as you feel clean and wrapping yourself in a plush but small white towel and pulling the shower cap off your head. The black dress you were wearing stares up at you from a crumpled pile on the floor. You stare back in contempt, you do not really want to have to slither your way back into that thing when you just got clean. Glancing around the bathroom aimlessly, you confirm your suspicion that there are no spare clothes in there with you so you unlock the door of the bathroom and step back out into the main room. 

Iwaizumi's back is turned to you, he is stood staring out of the window a the beautiful Las Vegas skyline and you almost regret having to interrupt his thoughts. Almost. You clear your throat loudly and he whips his head round to see you, illuminated by the light pouring out of the bathroom door behind your body which is covered only in a relatively small piece of fabric. He gawks at you for just long enough for you to watch as he cheeks grow pinker before he pivots hastily on his heel so he is staring out of the window once again. You chuckle quietly to yourself, for a millionaire trust fund baby he's awfully bashful.

'What's up?' He attempts to keep his voice steady and it works for the most part.

'Do you have any clothes I can change into, my dress is all dirty?' You ask him, wrapping your arms around yourself as the water evaporating of your skin saps the heat from you body.

'Oh, uh, yeah,' His voice is steady now as he moves over the the wardrobe, swinging the doors open and riffling through the mess of clothes. He pulls out two items and tosses them in your direction, though his eyes are angled away from you, 'Here you go.'

'Thanks,' Pointlessly, you over him a smile. His gaze is still averted when you turn back into the bathroom and shut the door behind you, not bothering to lock it this time.

You change swiftly before wrapping your arm with gauze from the first aid kit. Before returning to the room, you check yourself out in the mirror. The clothes he had throw you was a pair of grey shorts and a dark green top with an outline of Godzilla printed on it in a black ink. You smiled to yourself in the mirror, admittedly it seemed out of character for a business mogul to have a fictional beast on his pyjamas but it was kind of cute especially when he was so muscular and presented himself so stoically to the media. Wiping the smile off your face, you headed back out of the bathroom to see Iwaizumi at the door of the hotel room. He was conversing quietly with the person on the other side of the door and you did your best to remain silent while trying to inconspicuously eavesdrop on their conversation but it was over as soon as you had heard it. Iwaizumi pushed the door shut and turned so that he was face to face with you. Moving his right hand up in between the both of you, he waved the small black box he was holding in front of you eyes. You scowled at it for a moment before realising what it was. 

'Oh you're actually gonna teach me?' You asked him with raised eyebrows. 

'Well you're so terrible I feel like I have to,' He responded with a short, deep chuckle as he headed over to the bed.

'I don't have a table so we're gonna have to play on here,' He shuffled onto the bed and folded his legs over one another, patting the empty space on the comforter. He continued with a raised eyebrow. 'If that's okay with you?'

'That's fine by me,' You nodded, hoping onto the bed so you were directly opposite from him, imitating the way he had his legs crossed. 

He began by teaching you Blackjack. Explaining the rules first, then letting you get used to the rules with a couple practise games before getting serious with a few games. You had to reluctantly admit, he was a good teacher. You picked up the game quickly and even beat him a few times. You gloated like a sore winner and he just smirked at you before decimating you in the next game as a sort of reminder that he was the better out of the two of you. You moved onto harder games until eventually making it to a mini poker game. After he explained the rules but before you started the game he reached into the draw of the night stand and pulled out a packet of sweets.

'Werther's? Really?' You inquired as he poured the individually wrapped sweets onto the bed and split them between the two of you. 

You scooped one up, unwrapping it in one swift motion and popping it into your mouth.

'Don't eat it!' He smacked at your hand but you pulled it out of his line of attack just in the nick of time, 'Idiot, they're for the game.'

'Shut up I'm hungry.' You scolded him, grabbing one from his pile so the numbers were still even and eating that too. 

'What kind of food do you like?' He asked nonchalantly.

You listed off a couple of food that you enjoyed while sucking on the sweets.

'Why?' You asked after finishing. 

He didn't answer and instead reached over the bed again to the night stand. This time though, he picked up the white phone that was sat on the table. He spoke to what you assumed was the front desk and ordered a couple of the foods you had listed before thanking the clerk and placing the phone back down onto the receiver.

'You didn't have to do that,' You complained, trying to conceal a smile from your face.

'Yes I did or you would've eaten all of our chips.'

'I have some self restraint! Don't be a dick.'

'Whatever,' He shuffled the cards smoothly in his large hands, 'Let's just play.'

You played for a while, he explained that the games were shorter than usual because there was only two of you as well as giving you little insider tips to know if someone was bluffing. When the food arrived, you thanked him and both of you took a break from the game. While you ate, he commended you on your poker face and you had suppress a laugh. If only he knew why you had such an ability to lie undetected. You did your absolute best to not fall into too deep of a conversation with him, the pair of you got on so well even in this short amount of time but your years in this line of work had ingrained a strong system of defence in your head. It was irrelevant how well you got on, you had to get on well with all of your targets, it's what you had been doing for so long. This time was no different. 

As the night dragged on, you started to slip in more and more yawns. You were no where near tired but if the pair of you stayed awake all night then you would never be able to finish the job. You allowed your eyelids to droop slightly, leaning back on the head of the bed as you continued to play another round of poker. It was nearing one am, you finally won two consecutive rounds and were ready to take your turn shuffling and dealing when Iwaizumi stopped you.

'You're obviously tired,' He said quite bluntly, 'You should sleep.'

'Hmm,' You thought for a second before continuing, 'If you wanted me out of here that badly you could've just asked you know?'

'You're sleeping here,' His tone invited no argument as he began to clear the bed of the cards and the candies that lay strewn across it.

'According to who?' You asked indignantly, as much as his willingness helped your plan, you had never appreciated being told what to do.

'You don't have a room here and I wasn't raised by wolves so I'm not gonna let a woman make her own way home at this time of night,' Again he spoke as if he would not budge on this idea.

'Well lucky for me I was raised by wolves so I think I can handle any danger that comes my way,' You laughed as you spoke, half at yourself and half at his assumption that you were some damsel in distress.

'What your gonna handle them in that?' He gestured to your outfit with a chuckle of his own.

'Shut up, these are your clothes,' You retorted but your words were accompanied by a smile.

'Exactly, if you go wandering off I'll never get those back,' He pointed out, 'So quit arguing and just sleep, idiot.'

You conceded soon thereafter, doing your best to wash your makeup off with just water and soap before slipping between the covers of the king bed as he turned all the lights off save a lamp on the bedside table. It was insanely comfortable, it was going to be a struggle for you to resist sleep when the pillow felt like a cloud under your head. Iwaizumi hovered at the end of the bed while you wormed around a little in the bed, trying to find the right positions before checking your phone and setting it down on the night stand beside you screen facing down beside your ring. You hated to take it off but after seeing Yachi have to get her cut off and welded back together because she bent it in her sleep, you weren't about to take any risks.

'Are you not gonna get in?' You asked him, he seemed trustworthy enough that he wouldn't try anything while you fake slept and if he did you were confident enough that you're training would allow you to beat the shit out of him. 

'Not yet,' He had pulled his phone out of his pocket and was glaring at it intensely, ' I have something I need to take care of first.'

Stuffing his phone back into his pocket, he moved over to the wardrobe and shoved some stuff around, obviously searching for something. You could only make out the shape of his back and some of his movements in the dim light cast by the lamp beside you. He seemed to have found what he was looking for, you saw something glint with a reflection of light as he tucked the item into what seemed to be the waistband of his jeans. As he pulled away from the wardrobe, he closed the door and you shifted your gaze away so it wasn't so obvious that you were watching him. 

'I won't be long,' He informed you, his tone was steady but no longer calm, 'Get some sleep, I'll kill you if I get back and you're still up.'

'Yeah, yeah, whatever dad,' You mocked him, waving him off nonchalantly as he headed out of the door without another word.

Perfect, you thought with a grin. You swung your legs from beneath the sheets and hissed quietly as the cold air hit your bare skin before lifting yourself off the bed completely. First, you headed over to the wardrobe. It was a total mess, an expected aftermath of Iwaizumi riffling through there moments earlier. You began by searching for any hint of what he had taken with him. It was obviously metal and not particularly big but other than that you had no clue. When he spoke before he left, his mood had changed drastically and if you knew him better you would've known that it was anger that he was stealthily concealing. Now wasn't the time to fret about his emotions though; you turned your thoughts back to the task at hand and began riffling through his things. 

It honestly looked like he had take the entire contents of his suitcase and tipped it out into the closet. There was no sense of order so you didn't even know where to begin, usually the especially rich ones had some lackey that would do menial jobs like organise their closet and he definitely seemed like he could afford it. You happened across as small empty Nike backpack and pulled it out, thankful that you wouldn't just have to stick with what you could wear on your person for once. Next you grabbed a pair of the smallest trousers you could find; plain, black dress trousers that you had to roll up at the ankle several times after you slipped them on but other than that they weren't noticeably too big. The third thing you grabbed was a belt, a very expensive belt at that, and you looped it through the loops of the trousers and continued searching. Nothing stood out to you too much. The clothes were all nice and expensive but they weren't rare or interesting so the resale value would likely be very low.

You moved down to the top drawer under the closet, pulling it open smoothly. You hit the jackpot, slipping your hands inside the drawer to pull out a very plain black box. But you knew immediately what it was as you felt the weight of it in your grip. Turning slightly, you placed it on the bed before opening it slowly. The nondescript box was full of jewellery. A few chains like the ones he was wearing; a few diamond earrings and solid gold ones with crosses that dangled down; a bracelet or two and a few rings with unfamiliar crests emblazoned on them. You grinned in excitement as you stuffed the box into the small Nike bag and swung it over your shoulder. 

After zipping the bag securely, you headed back around the bed and grabbed your phone, slipping it into your trouser pocket, along with your ring that you slipped onto your left ring finger. There was no point wasting anymore time in here, Iwaizumi had left about ten minutes ago and you had no idea when he'd be back. So you moved over to the door, intending to grab your coat from where you left it near the... Then it hit you, your coat wasn't here. You cursed out loud as another realisation struck you. Your car keys were in that jacket. You swore again. How could you have forgotten it? That stupid fucking bartender distracted you by spilling that drink all over you, you must've left it down there with him.

You pulled your phone back out of your pocket and fired a text off to Yachi, hoping she was still awake and she could send Kiyoko over in a car or something. Pacing across the room, you awaited a response. Luckily, your phone chimed after only a few seconds with an answer but it was not one you wanted. She told you that Kiyoko was busy; she could send her straight to your location but she wouldn't arrive for God knows how long. You continued to pace as you contemplated what to do, there was no way of knowing where Iwaizumi was so it'd be a big risk to go back down to the bar especially when there was no guarantee your jacket or car key would be there. On the other hand, you couldn't just leave without a car, it was too far to walk to safety and there was too much security for you to hotwire a car out the front of the hotel, plus there was no way you'd be safe out there unprotected. 

Another text came through from Yachi. She told you that she had messaged someone else and they were on their way but she didn't tell you who. Immediately, you had a bad feeling in the pit of your stomach. You sent her another message, asking her who she was sending. Hoping she wouldn't say something stupid, like that she was going to come herself. But oh no, it was way worse than that. She was sending the man who was ever so stupidly named 'The Dark Wolf' and you did not get along with him in the slightest. He pressed every single one of your buttons. He was rash and thoughtless which just made him ever more dangerous; as much as you hated him, you couldn't afford to get any further onto his bad side since his boss ran most of the underground here in Vegas. So the pair of you got along. Barely.

You thought about sending an angry message off to Yachi, but you know if she'd roped him in that it was a last resort; she knew how much you despised each other. So instead, you sent a curt 'okay' and she told you he would be there in five. You huffed angrily, shoving the phone back into your pocket and headed into the bathroom to attempt to neaten your hair before you headed out of the room, trying to make yourself look as inconspicuous as possible but you doubted that anyone in this seedy place would care. 

A few minutes had passed and you took a deep breath to steel yourself before unlocking the bedroom door and heading down the corridor down the opposite way you came. Yachi had told you about this exit as well as a few others so you didn't have to walk straight through the lobby if you needed to make a more secretive escape. You moved swiftly but calmly down the corridor, certain that even if Iwaizumi had finished up whatever he was doing he would come back up in the elevator since he had no reason to hide anything. You rounded the corner as Yachi told you and were faced with a plain wooden door, just as you expected. 

As you moved to take another step forward, the door creaked open to reveal none other than Iwaizumi, staring down at his phone yet again with a furrowed brow. You froze. He was still looking down and he paused, focused intently on the message on his screen. Your eyes scanned him up and down. His hair was dishevelled, his white shirt was dirty, ruffled and mostly untucked from his waist band except for in one place by his right hip where it was still tucked in, wedged behind what you instantly recognised as the sleek black hilt of a knife. 

You stepped back, gritting your teeth and wondering what to do, now realising that your own weapon was still tucked into the garter on your thigh, effectively unreachable. Remaining light on your feet, you took another step. You were sure you hadn't made any sound that he could here as there was still a ways between you and the doorway he was stood in. Your silence hadn't mattered, he glanced up from his phone, moving to place it back in his pocket. As his eyes took you in, trying to determine what was going on, you took off in a sprint down the corridor.

You hear him curse and then the pounding of his footsteps coming after you. Mentally, you ran through all of the escape avenues in your head as you hurtled towards the elevator, hearing the high pitch ding and watching as the doors slowly opened. There was no way that those doors would close in time, surely. You thought about what Yachi had said when she ran you through the building plan as your heart beat loudly in your ribcage. There was every possibility that Iwaizumi was gaining on you but you couldn't risk a backwards glance as it would only slow you down.

The only other exits were in the opposite direction. You had one option. Your legs burned as you pushed them to your limit, speeding towards the elevator, you didn't hear the man's footsteps get any louder. You hoped to whatever God was listening that he was tired from whatever business he had been taking care of since now you registered the dark red stain on his shirt were most likely blood. 

Barrelling into the elevator just as the doors opened fully, you whirled around and pressed frantically on the 'close doors' button as you watched Iwaizumi get closer and closer. His knife was still tucked into the waistband of his jeans but the expression on his face alone was enough to bring fear to any normal person. That wasn't you though, you stared him down with a smirk as the elevator doors closed between you. The friendly 'ding' juxtaposed in the hostile atmosphere the pair of you had created as Iwaizumi slammed his fist into the closed doors with another string of curses before taking off running in another direction.

You did your best to collect your breath. There was no way he could get down stair in time to catch you if you went down quickly. But of course that wouldn't happen. The elevator stopped at many floors, collecting people along the way who happily chattered amongst themselves as you backed into the corner, panting quietly. There's no way he knew yet that you had stolen from him. So he was either already suspicious of you or you seeing him coming out of the shady back passage was enough to make you a threat. Either way, you could be certain he was up to something more nefarious than just being a rich prick. 

As the numbers on the LED display in the elevator got smaller and smaller, you began to breath deeper and deeper, readying yourself to run again. You didn't know what would greet you in the lobby but you knew that it didn't matter, you just had to run out and find Wolf's car parked outside. If he wasn't already here, then he would have hell to pay the next time you saw him. 

You were on the fifth floor. You steadied your heart rate. You had been in deadlier situations then this plenty of times. You pulled your bag off, slyly grabbing a few rings and slipping them onto your fingers. If you couldn't get to your knife without drawing attention, this was the next best thing to back some weight behind a punch. Slipping the bag back on, you took a few more deep breaths. You were at the fourth floor...third floor... second floor...

The doors opened into the lobby and loitered a little, letting everyone out of the elevator as you did your best to survey the area. He wasn't here. You breathed a slight sigh of relief as you headed out of the elevator but you didn't let your guard down as you rushed towards the door. People were still pouring in and out of the casino despite it being the early hours of the morning. No heads turned at your slightly suspicious movements, they were all far to drunk or high to care about anything other than their own enjoyment. For once you were thankful for how oblivious intoxicated people were as you slipped out of the front doors with a group of women on a bachelorette party.

You stuck with them for a little while, until you saw it in the corner of your eye. The bright red Pagani Huayra sat idling on the curb a fair few meters away from you, Wolf's car. You immediately split off from the group of women who hadn't even noticed that you'd joined them, heading towards the car of your reluctant saviour.

That was when you heard the familiar sound of running footsteps hitting hard onto pavement. You whirled around to their direction, Iwaizumi was coming at you. He was less than a few meters away. He still didn't have his knife out for some reason. He was stupid if he thought for a second you were going down without a fight. He got closer and closer. Until he was within arms reach. You watched as he pulled his arm back. Men really are idiots, you thought, why not just shout 'Hey! I'm gonna punch you now!'. You let your fist fly as he was still revving his punch up. The hand you had coated with rings connected hard with the soft, flesh of his unprotected stomach and he crunched forward, his arm dropping almost immediately. 

'You bitch,' He hissed at you.

'What? Dropped the niceties already?' You smirked at him.

It only seemed to anger him more. He lunged at you. Knocking you over before you could react. People were beginning to notice the pair of you but they did little to intervene, unsurprisingly. Iwaizumi was straddling you now, one knee on either side of your hips. His hands moved, swift and certain as he pinned your wrists to the ground above your head. You thrashed under him, kicking your legs up, kneeing him on any surface of skin you could meet. He groaned at any particularly painful connection but otherwise didn't react.

'Who the fuck are you?' He demanded. 

'I'm Artemis,' You informed him with a wink. 

'I mean your real name you idiot,' He retorted, tightening his grip on your wrists.

'Fuck you,' You spat into his face and his expression became even more thunderous.

He pulled his fist back again, releasing your left arm. Fucking idiot, you thought yet again. Ready to use his uneven weight against him to push him off of you and regain the upper hand. But before you could react, Iwaizumi grunted and rolled off you, gripping the side of his stomach. A hand grabbed your bicep and dragged you up off the floor.

'Get in the fucking car,' You heard the familiar deep rumble of the Dark Wolf's voice as he shoved you in the direction of his vehicle. 

'I had him, asshole,' You shoved him off you but headed in the direction he'd pushed you.

'You didn't have shit,' He followed close after you as security from the club rushed over to Iwaizumi, 'Just get in the car.'

You grabbed the door handle when you were close enough but you felt the same calloused hand grab your forearm and yank your grip off the car.

'Not in the fucking driver's seat,' He pulled the door open for himself, shoving you out of the way as he slipped in, 'You're not worth enough to drive this car.'

'I'm worth more than this hunk of shit,' You hissed as he slammed his door shut and left you to move around the car and drop into the passengers before speeding off into the night, ignoring the shouts of security and the sound of police sirens.


End file.
